This invention relates to an image transferred material having an image transferred onto a desired medium such as cloth, paper and like.
Hitherto, a method for transferring an electro-photographically copied image onto a desired medium such as cloth, wood, plastic plates, etc. has been known The method comprises forming an image on a surface-treated sheet by an electrophotographic method, laying the image-bearing sheet on a heat-welding sheet having a thermoplastic resin layer coated on a release paper such that the image-bearing surface is brought into contact with the resin layer, heat-pressing the two sheets with heat rolls, hot press or the like to adhere them, peeling off the surface-treated sheet to transfer the image on the heat-welding sheet, laying the image-bearing heat-welding sheet on a desired medium with which the image-bearing surface is brought into contact, followed by heat-pressing the sheet to the medium, and then peeling off the release paper from the thus adhered medium. The resulting image transferred material has the image layer and the thermoplastic resin layer on the medium.
Instead of using the electrophotographic method to form an image to be transferred, other methods such as a thermally transferring method, a thermally sublimating method and an ink jetting method can be applied to the above described image transfer method.
Another method is also known, a so-called "cycolor method" (tradename of The Meed Corporation, U.S.A.), wherein an image is formed using a photosensitive pressure-sensitive medium having provided on the surface microcapsules containing a dye precursor, a photocurable resin and a photopolymerizatin initiator, and a color developing medium having on the surface a color developer layer capable of color forming reaction with the dye precursor. In the method, the photosensitive pressure-sensitive medium is imagewise exposed to light to selectively harden the microcapsules due to the photocurable resin encapsulated therein, and the light-exposed microcapsule-bearing surface of the medium is then brought into contact with the color developer layer of the color developing medium, followed by applying pressure thereto to rupture unhardened microcapsules so that the encapsulated dye precursor is allowed to react with the color developer to thereby form a color image. An apparatus adapted for the method is described, for example, in JP-A-61-173981. (The term "JP-A" used herein means an unexamined published Japanese patent application.) The color developing medium having a color image formed in the color developer layer is laid on a heat-welding sheet having a thermoplastic resin layer coated on a release paper in the same manner as described above, followed by heat-pressing. After cooling them, a support of the color developing medium is peeled apart to transfer the color developer layer (image layer) on the heat-welding sheet which is then laid on a desired medium (e.g., paper, cloth, plastic films, etc.) to adhere the transferred color developer layer onto the medium. Thereafter, the release paper of the heat-welding sheet is peeled apart from the resulting medium. To attain this method, adhesions between the release paper of heat-welding sheet/the thermoplastic resin layer/the color developer layer/the support of the color developing medium and between the release paper/the thermoplastic layer/the color developer layer/the desired medium have been taken into consideration. In detail, reference may be made to Japanese Patent Application Nos. Sho-63-147805, and 63-250549 and Japanese Utility Model Application Nos. Sho-63-84914 and 63-84915.
According to the aforesaid methods, copied images can be transferred onto desired media such as cloth as described above. However, these methods cannot impart ornamental property beyond that of copied images. Moreover, an original with gold color or silver color cannot be faithfully reproduced by way of the aforesaid electrophotographic method and cycolor method, and these methods provide copied images only with reduced commercial value and back of reality and ornamental property. The same problems are also encountered when an original is a solid such as embroideries, glass beads, plastic beads and the like.